Ace: aceofspadeshq at gee mail.com
Buck: buck.throckmorton at protonmail.com
CBD: cbd at cutjibnewsletter.com
joe mannix: mannix2024 at proton.me
MisHum: petmorons at gee mail.com
J.J. Sefton: sefton at cutjibnewsletter.com
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published.
Contact OrangeEnt for info: maildrop62 at proton dot me
Sunday Overnight Open Thread - June 21, 2026 [Doof]
—Open Blogger
Howdy Hordelings! Welcome to the Sunday ONT. Hope you enjoyed the first official day of summer. Open thread, as always. Fashion and music, as always. What's on YOUR mind tonight?
— Kerry Slone(Stilettos&Shotguns) (@thereal_SnS) June 21, 2026
***
'Ette Couture (Courtesy of Piper)
It's that time of the week - when we turn the ONT over to our good friend Piper for a bit. Here's this week's fashion pr0n.
-----
The Glamour Dash at Royal Ascot: Hats, Horses, Henry’s Vintage Flex… and That Viral Video
Oh the Royal Ascot, where the dress code is stricter than a Victorian nanny armed with a ruler. Ladies drifted in like elegant cupcakes wrapped in silk, lace, and hemlines that stayed politely north of scandal. Gentlemen arrived in flawless morning dress: tails, waistcoats, and top hats tilted with mathematical precision while sporting some truly fun ties.
Two of my favorite ties belonged to Mike Tindall and the Duke of Edinburgh.
Mike wore an E. Marinella pink classic silk tie in the Small Flower pattern.
The Duke of Edinburgh once again delivered in his signature “Racing Colours and Saddles on Pastel Ground” tie by Soprano, a piece he has worn every year for the last 12 years.
Among the dresses, two stood out: Princess Catherine’s rewear of a gorgeous marigold Roksanda Brigitte dress (not everyone could pull that one off) and Zara Tindall’s utterly charming bespoke Claire Mischevani Poppy Dress in Polka Dot.
Alongside the bright yellow dress, Princess Catherine wore a Jane Taylor London Pomona hat, Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Chandelier Earrings, and a Nigel Milne Birthright Three-Strand Pearl Bracelet. She carried an Anya Hindmarch Maud Pearl-Embellished Clutch Bag in Ivory and finished the look with Gianvito Rossi Gianvito 105 Pumps in Bisque Suede.
Zara Tindall paired her polka-dot dress with a bespoke Sally Ann Hats Ariel Hat (retail version shown), Hector Lion Cassis Collection Croissant Earrings, and a Mulberry Amberley Clutch in Black Small Classic Grain leather. Her shoes were the Emmy Rebecca Pump in Jet Black Suede.
Then Henry Cavill arrived with his… um, watch, and the internet promptly lost the ability to behave. The watch itself was spectacular: a 1926 Longines Monopusher Chronograph. But honestly, the video says it all
In the end, Royal Ascot proved once again that while the hats are huge, the horses are fast, and the royalty is royal, nothing, and I mean nothing, can compete with a 6’1 superhero in morning dress casually flexing a vintage chronograph on his wrist. 😉
Gun Thread: Post NoVAMoMe Discussion and Analysis Edition!
—Weasel
Howdy, Y'all! Welcome to the wondrously fabulous Gun Thread! As always, I want to thank all of our regulars for being here week in and week out, and also offer a bigly Gun Thread welcome to any newcomers who may be joining us tonight. Howdy and thank you for stopping by! I hope you find our wacky conversation on the subject of guns 'n shooting both enjoyable and informative. You are always welcome to lurk in the shadows of shame, but I'd like to invite you to jump into the conversation, say howdy, and tell us what kind of shooting you like to do!
Holy Shitballs! How in the ever-loving Hell did it get to be the Post NoVAMoMe Discussion and Analysis Edition! I guess it's inevitable after a NoVAMoMe, but it still comes and goes so quickly. A bigly hearty thank you to all those who made the effort to come. If you attended this year's NoVAMoMe, or any MoMe for that matter, please speak up with your impressions in the comments below. Who knows, it might just be your words that inspires a scaredy-cat lurker to attend one!
Happy Father's Day to all you Dads out there!
With that, step into the dojo and let's get to the gun stuff below, shall we?
FUNdamentals of MoMe'n that is, with the operative word being FUN!
The social event of the season kicked off Friday afternoon with a small group and perfect weather, and by perfect I mean really actually perfect. The Pre-MoMe is a low key affair and among other things we mostly discussed the perfect weather, and enjoyed each other's company without being in full NoVAMoMe mode.
The following day was the main event, and to make up for the perfect weather the day before we had, you guessed it, more perfect weather. People arrived at the appointed time, and did the normal MoMe things, which is to say, enjoyed each other's company. We were fortunate to have attracted some new mostly-lurker types who, judging by the smiles, enjoyed themselves thoroughly. It's so nice to watch people meeting and re-acquainting with their online pals.
I say this a lot as you all know, but these get-togethers are pretty special, and you are only cheating yourself if you don't make the effort to get to one. I am aware that we have a fair amount of introverts among us, and imagine that's fairly common among online communities, but I cannot overemphasize the low-key nature of these gatherings. You owe it to yourself to give it a try at least once. You can absolutely be a total wallflower and hide and not talk to anyone, or be the life of the party, the choice is yours. There is absolutely zero pressure from anyone, and believe me when I say you will not be the biggest weirdo present.
If you missed the NoVAMoMe, fear not. The TXMoMe is right around the corner, October 16-17, in Corsicana, TX. Contact Ben Had for details. A link is always on the main page, left sidebar.
Finally, I want to thank my bestest blog buddy bluebell for her continued friendship over all these years. She makes being the nicest person in the world look easy.
******
Model of 1917
***
Wait a minute! Wait just a dang minute! I made a video at Weasel Acres on this very rifle!
******
Grains?
What are those little numbers on the ammo box?
******
Greatest .357 Magnum?
Our pal Hickok45 takes a look.
******
Our Pal Leisure Time
******
Highway Patrol!
This week's episode: Hostage Family Copter!
******
The Astounding She-Monster!
******
Here are some different online cigar vendors. You will find they not only carry different brands and different lines from those brands, but also varying selections of vitolas (sizes/shapes) of given lines. It's good to have options, especially if you're looking for a specific cigar.
A note about sources. The brick & mortar/online divide exists with cigars, as with guns, and most consumer products, with respect to price. As with guns - since both are "persecuted industries", basically - I make a conscious effort to source at least some of my cigars from my local store(s). It's a small thing, but the brick & mortar segment for both guns and tobacco are precious, and worth supporting where you can. And if you're lucky enough to have a good cigar store/lounge available, they're often a good social event with many dangerous people of the sort who own scary gunz, or read smart military blogs like this one. -rhomboid
Anyone have others to include? Perhaps a small local roller who makes a cigar you like? Send me your recommendation and a link to the site!
Please note the new and improved protonmail account gunthread at protonmail dot com. An informal Gun Thread archive can be found HERE. Future expansion plans are in the works for the site Weasel Gun Thread. If you have a question you would like to ask Gun Thread Staff offline, just send us a note and we'll do our best to answer. If you care to share the story of your favorite firearm, send a picture with your nic and tell us what you sadly lost in the tragic canoe accident. If you would like to remain completely anonymous, just say so. Lurkers are always welcome!
That's it for this week - have you been to the range?
Food Thread: Fish Eggs, Fish Eggs, Roly-Poly Fish Eggs!
—CBD
Ooh! That looks good! Except it is an odd dish that many people will carefully step around on the way to more conventional pasta dishes. Spaghetti alla Bottarga is a deceptively simple dish made of fish eggs, oil, and garlic...essentially Aglio e Olio with caviar! Except the Italian version of caviar is, A. much less expensive, and 2. made from the whole egg sac of Mullet, then salted and dried.
Yeah, it sounds a bit weird, but it is delicious, and a dish that I will order every time I see it, which is, sadly, very infrequently. I guess I should head to Sardinia, where it is a famous and popular dish, but that's a bit much for one plate of pasta, even for a glutton like me!
The base recipe can be used with pretty much any seafood, although I would stick to briny flavors like vongole (clams) or even anchovies! I think the pasta should be cooked in less water so the starchy water used to thicken the dish is as powerful as possible. And do not skimp on the garlic! But I shouldn't have to tell you that!
A coalition of 65 health, consumer, environmental, farming, and animal welfare organizations has filed a citizen petition urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to withdraw approvals for the routine use of medically important antibiotics for disease prevention in food-producing animals.
The petition argues that administering antibiotics through feed and water to livestock and poultry that are not diagnosed with disease contributes to the development and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that AMR is associated with approximately 35,000 deaths and 2.8 million illnesses annually in the U.S alone.
I have no particular resistance (Hah! See what I did?) to decreasing antibiotic use in agriculture. Antibiotic Resistance is a huge problem that isn't getting any better, so we should certainly address overuse.
But that coalition of 65 organizations makes me deeply suspicious, especially the "environmental" and "Animal Welfare" organizations. They tend to be lunatics with political agendas, so let us tread lightly!
"They ride around with two large hundred gallon tanks inside their vehicles. Then they hook up to the tanks and are out of there in three to five minutes," Robert Quirk with the Fenwick Island police department told WBOC.
As opposed to "two small hundred gallon tanks?"
Well, it's Delaware, and they elected Joe Biden, so the assumption that everyone who lives there is a retard isn't unreasonable.
******
From lurker "LF" comes more proof of the superiority of the American south (except for no snow!).
Green garlic is available at farmer's markets in the south. Bought and used fresh, until frost. Clean, delightful.
[...]
Green garlic is a hint milder in the bulb, and the green stems are edible, yet a bit milder. Just happy to known it's not from a filthy polluted country.
******
David Lebovitz is pompous and irritating, but he does know how to cook, and his recipes are rarely fussy. Here he makes something I have never made...Strawberry Jam. Well, I have cooked down fruit for compotes and such, but I am not a significant consumer of jams and jellies, because I am not, nor have I ever been a big big breakfast guy. Vacations are different though; I love trying local joints, which can often be amazingly good, even in areas that are not known for their food.
And...jams and jellies tend to be quite sweet, which is a big No-No for breakfast, especially the dreaded Maple Syrup on French Toast mania!
But Lebovitz's recipe is straightforward and gives the option to cut the sugar, which makes it intriguing, even though he is a toad.
******
******
The garlic is doing well! I think. I know all of you are worried, but it is still tall and green and healthy! And if they survive the deer and squirrel apocalypse, and actually grow into something edible, I will be in garlic heaven! Now I have to figure out when to harvest! Late June into July seems like the consensus. But I'm a Dildo, not a farmer! In case it doesn't work out, send all of your excellent home-grown garlic to: cbd dot aoshq at gmail dot com.
Rumor has it that the Bourbon Bubble is bursting. I have seen no evidence of decreasing prices, but maybe the bursting started somewhere else! I think the sweet spot is $40-$60 for excellent and interesting bottles, and bumping that to $100 gets you an incremental improvement in quality, but nothing mind-blowing. More than that and I think you are paying for hype and rarity, which may look good in your liquor cabinet, but doesn't translate to more quality in the bottle.
The problem...or the solution...is to buy lots of bourbon, take tasting notes, and eventually arrive at your favorites! It should take forty or fifty years, but it is worth it!
Why do I have this in a cabinet? I don't particularly like the beer, there is only one, so it isn't even a set, and the reason for its existence is lost in the mists of time and approaching senescence.
I have a vague recollection of one of the brats going through a "Stella Artois" phase, so that must be why, but why it hasn't been tossed is beyond me.
Soon though, my village's semi-monthly bulk pickup will be worked hard. I will revel in discarding...pretty much everything!
The science of vaccines and the resulting public health miracles are one of the glories of Western Civilization. We eradicated Small Pox, have marvelous vaccines for Rabies, Tetanus, Diphtheria, and a slew of childhood diseases that can be dangerous like Pertusis (Whooping Cough), Mumps, and Measles.
But the arrogance of the government medical establishment, coupled with good old grifting conspired to create a "modern" vaccine for a manufactured disease that has destroyed the trust that most Americans had for the once-vaunted FDA and its offshoots, and the medical establishment that carried its water during the catastrophically destructive COVID fiasco.
They created a disease, they lied about its origins, they used it to destroy our civil liberties and manipulate the country to be more compliant, and perhaps worst of all, they sabotaged possible treatments to favor their dangerous and expensive vaccine and treatments.
So why should the American people think that all of those failings have magically disappeared, and the new and improved FDA/Pharma/Deep State is any more invested in the health and well being of America?
The Food and Drug Administration should approve the first messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine for influenza, the agency’s vaccine advisory panel said on June 18.
The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee in a unanimous vote advised the FDA to approve an mRNA flu shot from Moderna for adults aged 50 and older.
The same mRNA technology that is implicated in some serious side effects? The same mRNA technology that was used to create the COVID vaccine that was famously awful? And all for a disease that has shifting antigens that are very difficult to identify quickly enough to create an effective vaccine? The flu vaccine works adequately, but it is by no means impressive, and the mRNA vaccine won't change that, so why risk the documented side effects of an mRNA vaccine when the traditional vaccine is safe?
Oh. Look! Money!
“The presented data do indicate efficacy against flu with no safety signals,” Dr. Hana El Sahly, a professor at the Baylor College of Medicine and committee member who worked on a trial for Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, said after the vote.
First of all, this harridan should have never been allowed on the committee because she has a clear conflict of interest in making mRNA vaccines mainstream. Second, she is a liar. Their own data show a higher risk of complications, but she uses typical biomedical weasel-words to avoid admitting that..."no safety signals?" what the f*ck does that mean?
Traditional vaccines work wonderfully. Until mRNA vaccines are shown to be equal to or better than traditional vaccines, in particular for diseases that by definition cannot be eradicated or whose vaccine is only marginally effective, we should be very, very suspicious!
Sunday Morning Book Thread 6-21-2026 [Sabrina Chase]
—Open Blogger
Welcome to the Book Thread, Guest Poster edition! I will be your host as we explore all sorts of book-related topics. All usual Book Thread rules are incorporated by reference (pets, beverage, clothing covering the lower limbs, etc.) with the special Sabrina Chase exemption for those stylish persons preferring kilts. Now let us proceed to today's topic, which is ...
A book-lover's life has many sorrows. Authors that won't write the next book in the series (as if death is any excuse!), insufficient time/money/cats to read as much as you want, and injuries caused by insufficiently secured TBR piles. But the cruelest cut of all is to know of a book by name, by reference, by a few scattered quotations, that no longer exists. War, fire, ideological purges, dogs ... many things can make books disappear especially from the times before printing. Hand-copied books were, of necessity, few in number. We have the Illiad and the Odyssey, but there are four other tales from that epic that no longer exist. Several plays by Euripides are missing. A treatise on comedy by Aristotle (we have the one on tragedy). Most of the poetry of Sappho is only known from fragments.
However! There is a bright spot in the darkness. Advances in science and in archaeology mean that some books previously thought too damaged to ever be read again can be brought back to life, and a stellar example of this are the carbonized papyrus scrolls from the Villa of the Papyrii in Herculaneum, caught in the explosion of Vesuvius that also toasted Pompeii. The image at the top is one of the scrolls in question, pretty much a charcoal briquette to look at but with clever scanning we can now actually start reading it. There are over a thousand scrolls from this villa, thought to belong to the father-in-law of Julius Caesar. The one scroll they have deciphered using this technique is a book of Epicurian philosophy, not one of the lost books, but with a thousand more to examine the chances are good a previously lost book will be in the pile somewhere!
This was all made possible by a contest funded by donations. Each success brings a monetary reward to the discoverer, and more goals remain. It sounds like the foundation has access to 300 of the carbonized scrolls, so something good is likely to appear as the contest progresses.
Besides scoping out burned scrolls, another way of recovering lost books is palimpsests. In the Middle Ages when books were written on vellum, thin prepared hide, it was so expensive that ancient books deemed no longer of any use by medieval monks would be scraped so the surface could be reused. And with clever scanning techniques (again... ) the original text can now be recovered. One famous manuscript known as the Archimedes Palimpsest had two missing texts from Archimedes, the Method of Mechanical Theorems and Stomachion, both mathematical treatises; a commentary on Aristotle with no other copy; and speeches by Hyperides, a famous ancient Athenian orator.
And when printed books took the world by storm, many printers had no use for the large, heavy parchment books with the hand-lettered pages and cut them up for use as binding shims, filler, and cover boards. Several documents and scraps of text have been rescued from old print book bindings. Sometimes books were "bound in" with other texts and in the days before card catalogs or really any kind of organization system beyond size, nobody would know unless they opened the whole thing and read carefully.
So take note of all the trials and tribulations, and don't let this happen to future generations. Preserve the books, even (and especially) the electronic ones! As we say in the software bizness, one backup is no backup. Copy early and often (and for the love of Ghu CHECK THAT THE BACKUP WORKS!)
Tesco purchased perpetual licenses to VMWare and signed matching support contracts before the company was bought by Broadcom. Broadcom is now - according to the suit - refusing to provide support services unless customer repurchase the licenses at new, vastly inflated prices.
There are nine and sixty ways I can think of off the top of my head that this could go horribly wrong. I suspect that Cloudflare can think of even more, and have already put in place countermeasures for half of them.
Saturday Night Club ONT - June 20, 2026 [D Squared]
—Open Blogger
Welcome to Club ONT - a collaboration of The Disco and The Dino. We built this place for you so you can have some fun. Come in in, grab a drink or 3. Keep it light and friendly. Jerks need not enter the premises (the moose out front is keeping watch).
[Top photo: The first NoVa MoMe since the election of Virginia Governor Spanberger took place today. The state was on alert!]
Randy, the painter, often thinned his paint to make it go further. The Baptist Church decided to restore its biggest building. Randy put in a low bid and got the job. He bought the paint, and thinned it with turpentine. Well, Randy was painting away, the job nearly completed, when suddenly there was a clap of thunder. The sky opened, and the rain poured down. It washed the thinned paint off the church. Randy fell from the scaffold, landing among the gravestones. He was no fool. He knew this was a judgment from the Almighty.
Randy raised his voice to the heavens, crying, "Oh, God, forgive me; what should I do?"
And from above, a mighty voice roared: “Repaint! Repaint! And thin no more!"
-----
O'Brien lived alone in the Irish countryside for many years, with just his dog for company.
One day, the dog died, and O'Brien went to see Father Mullaney, the parish priest.
"Father, me darlin' pup has passed on. I was wonderin', could ya be sayin' a mass for the poor creature?"
"Ah, I'm afraid not, we can't be havin' services for an animal in the church. But there's a few Baptists down the road and there's no tellin' what they're believin' in. Maybe they'll do somethin' for the poor creature."
"I'll be headin' off straight away, Father. Do ye think five grand would be enough to donate for the service?"
"Sweet Mary, mother o' Jesus! Why didn't ye tell me the dog was a bleedin' Catholic?"
*****
Drink of the Night
We have arrived at the sevens in our deck of playing card cocktails. Tonight we feature the 7 of hearts
*****
Club ONT Department of MoMe Reflections
As mentioned above, the 2026 NoVa MoMe took place today. Yuuuuuuge thanks to bluebell and Weasel for organizing another fun gathering! (Despite the official title "WeaselBell Productions", notice that we here at Club ONT know full well who to mention first when discussing the respective members of said team).
For the most part, the event went off as planned. JJ Sefton wasn't in attendance, but he used the weather machine to dial up perfect weather for us! Several NoVa MoMe veterans were in attendance, and we also had a few new folks
Always good to see new faces at a MoMe! If you've never attended one, we implore you to do so at the next opportunity! Seriously, even those of you who are shy or akward - or even ugly and stinky - we want you there! You can sit in a corner or behind a flowerpot wearing a "Lurker" name tag and just observe the event. Weasel himself pretty much just sits off to the side watching. If he can do it, so can you. C'mon - just go!
As for today, there were a couple of things worth noting.
First off - a person of questionable attire showed up. Khakis, dark colored polo shirt, and sunglasses. Someone (you know who you are!) stuck a warning label on his back. And we were VERY careful what we said around him.
Secondly - this one is quite puzzling. We do not quite know what happened here.
The most plausible explanation is that our good friend Piper - who you may recall succumbed to a tumor a few weeks ago - was reincarnated as a doggeh and made it to the MoMe today. No further information is available as of yet. We will keep you posted.
So -- will we be seeing you in Texas in October for TxMoMe XI???
*****
Club ONT Speaker Check Service
Volume up. Just making sure the speakers on your device are operating properly.
The 2027 Taycan gets fake gear shifts, fake noise, and a feature Porsche quietly borrowed from Hyundai.
On Wednesday, the 2027 Porsche Taycan debuted with fake gear shifts and as the German automaker put it, "more emotive electric sport sound."
The fake gear shifts are being dubbed "virtual gears" with the feature known as E-Shift, according to Porsche. It's an option on all 2027 Taycan models, though it's standard on the Turbo GT trim, and will deliver a "perceptible shift motion," according to the automaker.
Taycans already had fake noise, but now Porsche said the system, which uses speakers to pump fake noise into the world just like Hyundai's does, has been "reinterpreted," according to the automaker. It's also officially called Porsche Electric Sport Sound. Dangerously close to sport exhaust.
Porsche also added a virtual rev counter to the 2027 Taycan to count the fake revs from the fake transmission.
Tell me you've lost your way without telling me you've lost your way.
Content cleanse with this:
*****
Club ONT Department of Wrestling History
The June 16, 1984, episode of Piper's Pit would go down in history as the start of something huge: the Rock 'n Roll Connection. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper interviewed pop star Cyndi Lauper, Captain Lou Albano crashed the conversation, and chaos ensued!
We know what you're thinking. "If only Mattel would make a trio of collectible figures to commemorate such a significant cultural moment in time..." Well, we have news for you.
A new 3 pack of action figures will make their debut at San Diego Comic-Con next month! Each is 6.5 inches tall. How much you ask? Only $80! What a bargain! If that's not enough, the Lauper figure comes with an interchangeable head and two extra pairs of hands.
The TikToker @itsmeju1iette is dedicated to trolling food internet at an exceptionally well-executed level. Juliette does things like create meat cereal in the style of Froot Loops, uses her dog's actual paws to make paw print cookies, and fills the frunk (front trunk) of a Tesla completely with tiramisu (unfortunately, commercially-made meat cereal does exist, and we once tried it).
One of her videos from a few years back is a simple one showing her cooking hot dogs in Gatorade, which turns them a remarkable blue color. Could this actually happen? Gatorade needs no introduction, but in my mind, the drink wouldn't impart that much color to a hot dog - or would it?
The verdict:
Interestingly enough, the Gatorade only colored the surface of the dog, and the Fierce Grape flavor was subtle. But it was there all right, though it was very faint. The meaty savoriness of the all-beef hot dog did the heavy lifting, and for something this strange-looking, it didn't taste as atrocious as it appeared.
*****
Club ONT Jukebox
It's almost officially summer!
*****
Top 10ish Comments of the Week
*****
Club ONT thanks you for your support! Unlike our regular patrons, there are some who have not yet fully committed to their Chung Wanging.
The movie world continues to make quality films from time to time, and fifteen years ago Martin Scorsese released what I think is one of his best films, the adaptation of the novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. The novel is a children's novel, several hundred pages long but with minimal words on each page and heavily illustrated in black and white pictures. However, I did not care at all about the novel when the film was announced. All I cared about was that Martin Scorsese was making a new movie.
It came, it went. I saw it in theaters, but it was a financial failure. Most people seem to have completely forgotten about it, most people seemingly dismissing it because it's a Scorsese movie that's not a gangster movie. That's all he makes, right? And he's making a children's movie? In 3D? He jumped on that bandwagon? There is every reason to ignore this, right?
Well, I love the film. I've purchased it twice (once on Blu-ray and once the 4K disc), and I've seen it half a dozen times. A couple of weeks ago, though, I decided to actually read the source novel with an eye towards the questions of adaptation. What did Scorsese (and screenwriter John Logan) change? What did they add? What did they take away?
The story itself is obviously something that would attract Scorsese. It's about the title character Hugo Cabret, an orphan in 1928 whose father died in a fire in a museum where he was working. Hugo's uncle took him in. Claude Cabret maintains the clocks in Gare-du-Nord in Paris. However, we start the story with Hugo alone, his uncle having disappeared for months, maintaining the clocks himself and stealing parts from the toy store in the train station owned by Papa Georges. Hugo is stealing parts to fix an automaton that Hugo's father found in the museum, convinced that it will provide him some kind of secret message from his father once fixed.
Hugo gets caught by Papa Georges, forced to work for him to retrieve the notebook his father had kept detailing the progress with repairs, befriends Papa Georges' goddaughter Isabelle, and discovers that Papa Georges not only designed the automaton but is also George Melies, the pioneering French filmmaker. Hugo's discovery of Papa Georges through the automaton ends up fixing both Hugo's lack of family and Papa Georges' sense of failure at having been forgotten by the world, having been forced to sell his movies to a chemical company who melted them down for heels for women's shoes. The discovery also brings the attention of a French film academic who brings Melies back to the limelight, and all is well with the world of Hugo Cabret.
All of this is nearly identical in both film and novel. The movement of the plot has a handful of changes into a film. Hugo and Isabelle get injured near the middle of the novel, and that's been excised. There's an extra character, Etienne, who acts as a middle-man to connect Hugo and the film academic in the book who's completely gone in the film. However, those are relatively small changes. Hugo's journey, the overall structure of the story, and the dual character repairs between Hugo and Georges are the same. Scorsese took out very little.
He did add a lot, though.
Broader and Deeper
It seems obvious that Brian Selznick enjoys movies. The book is about movies, movie history, and even the use of illustrations in the film are meant to mimic camera movements. There's an opening series of illustrations that effectively make it a pan and zoom from outside Paris in the sky and into Gare-du-Nord (which Scorsese replicates in the film).
However, no matter how much Selznick enjoys movies, he does not enjoy movies nearly as much as Martin Scorsese, the man whose childhood was defined by looking out his apartment window in NYC at the kids who could play while he couldn't because of his asthma as well as watching movies on television (where he was first exposed to the films of the British-based duo Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, the Archers). He also established The Film Foundation, an organization dedicated to preserving and restoring films. He has a very long history of loving, protecting, and making films. He knows a lot.
And what he added into the adaptation was mostly related to side characters that help broaden the story's emotional impact but also deepen the story's appreciation of film, in particular with regard to French film history.
Tati
The additions to the story are mainly around four characters. The station inspector is in the novel, mainly as a generic antagonistic force without much character. Madame Emile and Monsieur Frick are essentially just named store owners who end up helping chase Hugo around late in the novel.
All three of these characters get a lot more time in the film. Madame Emile and Monsieur Frick's additions are mostly silent as Frick tries to woo Emile, but Emile's dog snips at the man. It's just a minor little subplot and comedic drama as the two try to find ways to connect despite the dog. It ends with Frick getting his own dog, and it's a nice addition. Showing another pair of people finding a connection in the train station, a minor way to reinforce the movie's central ideas.
The station inspector gets the most attention, being that antagonistic presence in the story, and the most additions come from a new character created for the film, Lisette. She is a middle-aged woman who sells flowers in the train station that the station inspector yearns for but can't speak to. There are these wonderful moments where the station inspector simply struggles to approach her because of him being very self-conscious of the metal brace on his leg, necessary because of a wound from WWI, and these moments strike me clearly as references to the comedy films of Jacques Tati.
Jacques Tati was a French filmmaker whose cinematic persona was centered around his character M. Hulot. M. Hulot was the star of several of his films, a perennially polite man befuddled by and trying to navigate in a modern world that was increasingly absurd and distancing. His most well-known film is Playtime, a film he self-financed that was also a financial bomb that lead him to living in, essentially, destitution for the rest of his life. The central element of it was the large set called Tativille, a shiny, urban environment with large interior sets and exterior sites that is often held up as one of the most impressive feats in production design in film history.
It's hard not to see a comparison between Tativille and Scorsese's bringing of Gare-du-Nord to cinematic life. A large set (with digital extensions, this ain't all real) filled with human life with bits of human comedy that recall the style of storytelling that Tati did? If this isn't a Tati-inspired series of choices, I'll eat my hat.
Now, this is not important in and of itself. Police Academy 6: City Under Siege has Jacques Tati references, and it's supposedly not very good (I haven't seen it, I just know that the references are there). References don't make films good or bad. However, Scorsese isn't just referencing Tati, he's bringing human emotion to the references that add to the central emotional core. The station inspector finding ways to connect with Lisette despite his feelings of brokenness because of his leg mirrors Hugo and Papa Georges finding each other and fixing each other. It's just told in this Tati-esque manner at the same time.
Adaptation
Is the book always better?
It's a common enough assumption and impression, but I always imagine some kind of long-form adaptation of Jaws that completely lacks the excitement and punch of the Steven Spielberg film but retains more of the novel by Peter Benchley. Hugo, though, is going to be my central counter-argument from now on, though.
Brian Selznick wrote a good book. It's definitely for children, but the combination of story, characters, illustrations, and ending come together to make a satisfying little adventure through a French train station and early cinema history.
Martin Scorsese, though, makes it so much more. He takes everything that's good of the book, and he finds ways to make it all simply better. He finds ways to make the emotional impact hit harder. He finds ways to make the appreciation of cinema more encompassing. He finds ways to bring all these additions together to create a finished product that ends up feeling like an improved draft, like Scorsese acted as an editor who pushed the story into new, better directions that feel natural from the intention of the original author.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret was a book that wanted to be a movie. Martin Scorsese made it into Hugo using all of his technical skill and cinematic acumen to do it.
It is honestly one of the best examples of adaptation I can think of.
The Brides of Dracula (Rating 2/4) Full Review "This is a film that seems to have so little story that it just revels in prim properness for long stretches, and it just sucks all the joys the film could have out of it." [Library]
Sword of Sherwood Forest (Rating 3/4) Full Review "Honestly, the film doesn't ask too much, and it largely delivers. That's not too bad." [Tubi]
A Weekend with Lulu (Rating 1/4) Full Review "Really, the film is light in tone but unable to find any comic reason to really exist even though the situation, characters, and setting are actually rife with that potential." [Library]
The Curse of the Werewolf (Rating 3/4) Full Review "Could this have been the great werewolf movie? I really think so. Hammer was never going to invest in the three hour version, though, so I have to celebrate the solid werewolf adventure I got." [Archive.org]
Email any suggestions or questions to thejamesmadison.aos at symbol gmail dot com.
I've also archived all the old posts here, by request. I'll add new posts a week after they originally post at the HQ.
My next thread will be on 7/11.
Welcome hobbyists! Pull up a chair and sit a spell with the Horde in this little corner of the interweb. This is the mighty, mighty officially sanctioned Ace of Spades Hobby Thread. For this week, the Wheel of Hobbies (TM) is on fire. It spun and spun and landed on a candle theme for this Hobby Thread.
"All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle." St. Francis Of Assisi.
Quick shout out to all the Hordelings that attended the Virginia MoMe. I can now confirm that some of you exist in real life. Thank you for making the trip. Great to spend quality time on a lovely day with the AoS family.
***
A candle theme? I'm a little surprised myself but enough people mentioned it in the comments last week to tilt the Wheel of Hobbies (TM). But how interesting can candles be???? Let's find out together.
I did not realize that candle making is such a big thing. Based on YouTube videos, approximately half of the world's population is currently involved in candle-making and posting videos about how to do it. Have I missed something that everyone else knows about? Is candle making a cult? Is there a conspiracy to lure new and unsuspecting non-candle makers into the club? And do people really burn this many candles? So many questions...
From my limited research, it seems that the first requirement of candle making is a kitchen. You must repurpose your mixer, pots, stove top and kitchen counter. Seems like you could make cookies instead if you're going to go through all that, but I am a dinosaur with a small brain and have much to learn.
It also seems like many candlemaking videos are oriented to people trying to make a small business out of candlemaking, not just hobbying. I have stayed away from videos that scream "THE TOP 10 THINGS YOU MUST DO IN YOUR CANDLEMAKING BUSINESS" or "I MADE $300,000 LAST YEAR SELLING CANDLES FROM MY BASEMENT!!!!"
Do you make candles? Do you have traditions that involve candles?
***
What are you hobbying?
Candles are the theme, but the thread is not limited to candles. In fact, anything (legal) you are hobbying is welcome. Even if the theme does not speak to you, you might learn something. If not, find something else or offer something else relating to hobbying. If all of that fails, just check in and say hello.
As per usual Hobby Thread etiquette, keep this thread limited to hobbying. Leave politics and religion to threads elsewhere (unless your hobby is building or restoring churches). Ignore whatever gibberish Kamala is talking about these days. Pants are optional. As always, puns are welcome and encouraged.
Play nice and do not be rude. Do not be a troll and do not feed the trolls.
***
There are a bazillion videos on YouTube about how to make candles in your home.
***
Carving candles?
***
Step 1: make candles in the most inefficient way possible
Step 2: have French people make the candles
Step 3: sell inefficient French-made candles as a "luxury" item for $660
Step 4: profit!
***
Prefer your candle making with a little history?
***
Guess Yankee Candles are a thing?
***
***
Asking the important questions - where did the candle wax go?
Citronella oil is extracted from Cymbopogon species - types of lemongrass - and is rich in mosquito-repelling compounds like citronellal, citronellol, and geraniol. These compounds interfere with mosquitoes' ability to locate humans by masking the scents that attract them.
However, the "citronella plant" often found in garden centers (usually a type of scented geranium) contains very little citronella oil and does not offer the same protection unless its leaves are crushed and applied directly - a far cry from the ease of a ready-to-use spray.
Citronella candles and tiki torches are popular for outdoor use, but their range and effectiveness are limited. They may provide mild deterrence in a small radius but are not sufficient for lasting protection, especially if there's even a light breeze.
Similarly, decorative citronella plants add aesthetic value but don't repel mosquitoes unless the plant's oils are actively released. This makes them more of a conversation piece than a serious solution.
For those seeking reliable mosquito relief, citronella-containing sprays and wipes offer several practical options. They contain active concentrations of citronella oil and are designed to be applied directly to the skin, where they provide a more consistent barrier.
I hate mosquitos.
***
Wax selection seems to be a big deal.
Lots of videos out there but most are unhelpful (at least to me). Soy? Paraffin? Beeswax? Coconut? Palm? Blends? I don't know. Eco-friendly and sustainable? Sorry - I just can't inflict a video on you from a woman named Flower with a septum piercing trying to explain it. It makes my small dino head hurt.
Until I learned about edible candles...now you have my attention.
***
Where do those funky candle shapes come from? Silicone molds! Can you make candles in silicone molds with beeswax? Yes!
***
Making wood candlesticks on a lathe. Sounds like a great idea!
***
There is nothing like singing Silent Night at a Christmas Eve service by candlelight:
***
German Christmas pyramids are a great use of candles.
***
Horde Hobbying
Teresa in Fort Worth has been busy stitching a stocking for her young grandson, Niko.
Nice!
***
Did you miss the Hobby Thread last week? We did an childhood hobbies theme. The comments may be closed, but you can re-live the content.
Notable comments from last week:
She gets it. Thank you.
***
Words of wisdom:
"Because despite all our troubles, when things are grim out in that wide round world of ours, that's when it's really important to have a good hobby." Posted by: tankascribe at June 22, 2024 07:41 PM (HWxAD).
***
Send thoughts, suggestions and photos of your hobbying to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Do mighty things.
— Declaration of Memes (@LibertyCappy) June 20, 2026
Meet The PetMorons
&&&
I am a lurker but this brought into the sunlight. This is Gideon, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, from 2018 when he was 6 months until now. Two weeks ago, I let him out for his morning duty. I heard him barking and looked up and saw him barking at a full grown male black bear up a tree. I had to grab him, and he wasn't happy about that, and back away.
lurker MG
Wow! Gideon is charming! And he was super-cute at six months.
Doesn't really look like a bear hunter. Glad you got him away from the bear.
* * *
We'll title this "Transgression." This is the look my brother got from Sammy when he had the nerve to try to brush the belly. Note claws. -
Miley
In that photo, Sammy looks a lot like the black kitten among the four brought to our house by their mother not long ago. He can be held for a few seconds, but then usually gives "that look" and shows the claws.
* * *
Hi K.T.
I had to say goodbye to Emma last week. She was the last of a long continuous line of Scotties we had beginning in 1975. I introduced Emma on AOS Pet Thread back in March 2018. This is her last Christmas picture -- She was such a good girl.
Bill in FL
Oh, how heartbreaking to lose sweet, lovely Emma. She looks so happy in her Christmas picture.
Keep in touch.
* * *
PetMoron Adjacent Animals
Encountered by Members of The Horde
Hello K.T.,
The pictures of all the deer in this week's Pet Thread reminded me of a pic I took some days ago. In the early morning we looked out the front window and there was Mama deer with a newborn. When we first saw them the doe was laying down with the fawn standing next to her. She got up and they both slowly walked away.
Thanks for the Pet Thread. Always a good read.
George V.
I like that photo a lot! And the story even more Thanks for sending it in.
* * *
Thank you for sharing your pets and animal photos and stories with us today.
If you would like to send pet and/or animal stories, links, etc. for the Ace of Spades Pet Thread, the address is:
petmorons at protonmail dot com
Remember to include the nic or name by which you wish to be known when you comment at AoSHQ, or let us know if you want to remain a lurker.
My little garden has been pretty colorful and a delight to look at out the window on a 90 degree day. Here's a couple photos of my Tequila and lime Daylilies.
Didn't realize that each blossom actually only last for a day til Hrothgar mentioned it.
In one picture you can see the delicate pink hydrangeas. I was initially disappointed that they didn't get those big rounded flowers but grew to like how delicate they look.
Sharon(willow's apprentice)
Daylilies and hydrangeas both come in different flower forms. The daylilies are spectacular, and the color of the hydrangeas looks nice with them.
We have updates from Intrepid Liaison/Admiral Ackbar from May 15 and from more recently today.
May 15:
In some ways, plants are pretty uneventful. Most flowers on my plants have fallen off, and tiny little fruit are starting. Little baby quince fruit starting under the dying flower. The North Star cherry tree has always produced massive harvests, despite being fairly small and young still.
The side of my house is overgrown with grape and kiwi vines, so I put up some ghetto "trellising" to help if grow out more. We'll see how well it holds up. Last year we had quite a few grapes. . . but raccoons ate them all.
Okay, I lied. The Pawpaw tree is native, and always a little behind the other fruit trees, so it still has its weird, brownish bell-like flowers.
They are so interesting.
*
June update:
Lots of fruit and berries growing at the homestead, but with a move coming up, I haven't harvested like I usually do. Tons of mulberries and wild raspberries ready to pick, and finally a few pawpaw fruit on our young trees!
The berries look great. Quince are coming along. The pawpaws have made fast progress since the blossoms last month!
We have just a few grape vines on the side of the house, but they produce a ridiculous amount of fruit. Problem is keeping the critters out long enough to let them fully ripen and harvest.
Saw a little turtle on the walking trail. Had a weird worm looking thing on the back of his shell...maybe a leech? Ewww.
Any suggestions on keeping critters out of the grapes?
Know what's on the back of that turtle?
Oh! I saw a mass of bright yellow mushrooms growing along a local path. Wife said they're "Golden Oyster", edible and invasive. I brought a backpack and hopped the fence on my next walk (chain-link fence to keep people away from the train tracks), and they were JUST out of reach. And, I pulled something trying to reach for them lol.
Take care of yourself. Are you really moving?
*
History - Some Special Trees
Halnaker tree tunnel in Sussex is a hollow way, or just Holloway
Created by 2,000 years of traffic on the original Roman Road from London to Chichester
Stane Street is the modern name of the road from Londinium (London) to Noviomagus Reginorum (Chichester) pic.twitter.com/F4SrJvQWST
— The English Oak Project (@TheKentAcorn) June 19, 2026
*
Gardens of The Horde
Hello KT!
I have been meaning to send pictures of my patio efforts for some time now! Things are growing and blooming and the bees seem to be very happy. My sunflowers are getting tall and the flowers are starting to bud-soon
Bee balm is blooming:
The Spiderwort has really done well. I chose a sunny/shady spot:
Thanks as always for providing such a lovely spot on the internet!
Mrs. Leggy
I can see why the bees would be happy and will be happier when your sunflowers bloom.
*
Hope everyone has a nice weekend.
If you would like to send photos, stories, links, etc. for the Saturday Gardening Thread, the address is:
ktinthegarden at g mail dot com
Remember to include the nic or name by which you wish to be known at AoSHQ, or let us know if you want to remain a lurker.
Abigail Adams wrote these words to her husband, John Adams, the day after the Battle of Bunker Hill having learned about the death of their dear friend Dr. Joseph Warren during the battle.
“The Day; perhaps the decisive Day is come on which the fate of America depends. My bursting Heart must find vent at my pen. I have just heard that our dear Friend Dr. Warren is no more but fell gloriously fighting for his Country— saying better to die honourably in the field than ignominiously hang upon the Gallows. Great is our Loss. He has distinguished himself in every engagement, by his courage and fortitude, by animating the Soldiers and leading them on by his own example.”- Abigail Adams (June 18, 1775)
I began to think about their ages on that day...Joseph Warren had recently turned 34, Abigail was 30 & John was 39. Somehow we think of the founding generation as elderly. . . most were not.
*
Pictured is John Trumbull’s painting “The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker's Hill, June 17, 1775.”
I wrote the entry on chicken fried steak. I believe it is the best essay on chicken fried steak that has ever been written. If you read it and don't think so please send me the better one. https://t.co/28siRsSaub
The Classical Saturday Morning Coffee Break & Prayer Revival
—Misanthropic Humanitarian
[Coffee & Musical H/T Hadrian The Seventh]
Good morning boys and girls and everything in between. Before we enter the Prayer Revival just a few housekeeping matters to go over. (Rulz for those of you in Morrison)
1) This is an open thread. Feel free to lurk, opine and/or bloviate.
2) Be kind. Be nice. Black marks on your permanent record are not pretty.
3) A weekly reminder. No running with sharp objects.
4) Have a great weekend and a Happy Father's Day to all of you Fathers.
Please submit any prayer requests to me, “Annie’s Stew” at apaslo at-sign hotmail dot com. Prayer requests are generally removed after four weeks unless we receive an update.
Prayer Requests:
3/28 – Jordan61 posted that Mr. Jordan61 is back in the hospital. His sepsis has returned and gotten into where his compression fracture is, and he has vertebral osteomyelitis. The doctor is supposed to come in today and let them know the plan.
5/26 Update – Mr. Jordan61 had his last antibiotic infusion on 5/24 and his PICC line was removed on 5/26. He will have follow-up blood work in 2 weeks but for now, all looks good!
4/3 – Teresa in Fort Worth posted an update. Her chemo seems to be holding things steady for now. Unfortunately, as she is receiving a steroid, she has gained about 25 pounds. Her blood sugar has also jumped up about 40 points (which only happens when she is on steroids).
6/1 Update – Teresa had a CT scan and has seen the surgeon. Everything looks good/stable. There are no new tumors and the ones that are there have pretty much stayed the same or shrunk. No metastises seen. Additional good news is that she can stay on the current medication, and just alternate it with other meds. She continues to respond extremely well to the protocols. She sends her gratitude for each and every prayer.
5/16 – Tonypete asked for prayers for Jane who is dying of breast cancer, and for Cheri who is in jail (again) for drug related crimes.
6/13 Update – Jane and her husband have sold their home and have moved back to Green Bay, to be with family when she dies.
5/20 – D gave an update on his wife Susan and her continued battle with cancer. Her cancer markers are still headed in the right direction. She is on a new antibiotic, and it is causing some side effects, but it is keeping her out of another surgery, so that is a win. Thanks again to everyone for their prayers. May 1 marked one year since they found out about the cancer, and Susan is doing so well.
5/20 – E gave an update. She and her family were having financial struggles a few months ago, and asked for prayers. E sends her thanks for the prayers, and wanted to let people know that things are getting better, thanks to the Horde’s prayers and their church family. They have resolved their mortgage issue and her husband has resumed his side gig making deliveries. They are also cutting monthly expenses. They would like continued prayers as they deal with the insurance company of the person who crashed into (and totaled) E’s vehicle. Insurance only offered half the replacement value, so that struggle is still going on.
5/23 – San Franpsycho sent a praise report. His prayer to become a grandad has been answered, and Girl F will have a baby in December. Girl F still plans to attend grad school, but will delay a year, which means they will depend on them for child care. This pleases San Franpsycho to the nth degree!
5/23 – Vmom deport deport deport would appreciate prayers. She has been freaking out about her eyesight. Her eye doctor says she has myopic macular degeneration.
5/23 – I used to have a Different Nic could use some prayers as he waits for the results of a biopsy of a mass on his prostate.
6/2 Update – I used to have a Different Nic sent in an update. He has been diagnosed with risk group 2 prostate cancer. It appears to be localized to the prostate but this will be verified via another scan. He has doctor appointments lined up for the next month or so before he starts treatment.
5/23 – George V sends his thanks for the prayers on behalf of his wife, when she had a heart valve replacement. The procedure went very well and she is doing great in the rehab program. But prayers are still needed. There are indications of problems in her lymph nodes that showed up in the scans checking her heart. She will have a biopsy in June, as well as a biopsy on a skin lesion that is looking suspicious. Thank you for all prayers.
5/26 – Doof posted a request for prayers for his mom. She is back in the hospital. She is very weak from one or more infections, and is sleeping a lot. She isn’t really talking when she is alert for a few minutes.
6/14 Update – Doof’s mother passed away.
5/27 – Grannysaurus Rex asked for prayers for Sherry, a co-worker, who is being tested for possible cancer of the blood.
5/29 – Bulg requested prayers for his sister, her husband, their four children, and the rest of the family as his sister is dying. She is in palliative care in the hospital, with a lot of blood clots, and is not expected to last long.
6/5 Update – Bulg asks for continued prayers for his sister and the family. He visited, and her condition had improved a lot. She was conscious and lucid. Bulg and his brother had a nice visit with their sister, and also got to visit with her family (husband, kids, grandkids). Bulg is grateful for the reconciliation with his sister and prays that she may be with them for a long while.
6/14 Update – Bulg’s sister passed away on 6/14. They all could use prayers of comfort.
5/29 – huerfano requested prayers for her brother, R, whose appendix “got hot”. Luckily he was with his daughter, who got him to ER quickly, and surgery was scheduled for 5/29.
6/6 Update – R had surgery, but his appendix was already leaking, so the surgery was more complicated and required lavage of his internals. He has been back at his daughter’s house since 6/1, and is thinking he’s ready to go home. Unfortunately, that’s 500 miles.
5/29 – Beltway Elite posted that s/he had just signed forms for her/his mom to enter hospice. Mom’s quality of life has been declining since she had a stroke several years ago, and she hasn’t been able to speak or swallow solid food recently.
5/30 – RandomDave posted that he would appreciate prayers as he searches for work. He has had some good job prospects/interviews over the past week.
6/2 – Ellipsis (…) sent in an update. We had prayed for a friend of hers who was going through cancer treatment. It’s been a little over a year, and her port is out now and her hell is over. She is battered and bruised, but clear. Thank you to the Horde for prayers, and praise to Jesus.
6/4 – Teresa in Fort Worth’s niece (Amanda) received a heart transplant a few months ago. One of the complications of that was that her kidneys started failing, and she needed a kidney transplant. On 6/3, she received a new kidney and it appears to be working. Hallelujah! The family is so grateful for the gift from the donor’s family.
6/6 – Skip requested prayers for his boss and wife. Their oldest daughter passed away the day before her 30th birthday. They had also lost a son some years ago unexpectedly. They still have 2 daughters.
6/9 – “A” requested prayers for a long-time friend now suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease, who just fell and broke his hip. He came out of the anesthetic really confused. His wife and family also need prayers of support and strength to help him.
6/13 – Dash my lace wings asked for prayers for a friend named Lisa, who was diagnosed with liver duct cancer. She has been in the hospital for a couple of weeks and is afraid she will never leave.
6/13 – Tonypete requested prayers for an acquaintance (B), who has destroyed every relationship she has ever been a part of and spreads hate and torment to everyone around her.
For submission guidelines and other relevant info, please contact Annie's Stew, who is managing the prayer list. You can contact her at apaslo at-sign hotmail dot com. If you see a prayer request posted in a thread comment, feel free to copy and paste it and e-mail it to Annie's Stew. She tries to keep up with the requests in the threads, but she's not here all of the time, so she may not see it unless you e-mail it to her. Please note: Prayer requests are generally removed after four weeks or so unless we receive an update.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9
We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.
The film, which depicted the credibly accused but I would never say so myself compulsive liar and total sociopath in an unflattering light may just possibly have conflicted with Amazon's $50 billion investment in OpenAI and OpenAI's $38 billion in contracts with Amazon.
This is AMD's memory encryption system that prevents any potential leakage of data between mutually untrusted virtual machines on shared hardware. Necessary on servers running cloud systems at Amazon and Google, but also useful for homelabs and developers who want to try it out on affordable hardware.
There's a thing going on on social media that's fantastic. Foreign fans here for the World Cup are posting all about how great this county is, great food, friendly people, lovely vistas, and it's just the most wholesome thing in the world.
London's got Beaver Fever! They've reintroduced wild beavers (the wilder the better) to the London area. Beavers had previously been hunted out of existence on the theory that they're nuisances that cause flooding by erecting dams.
The new theory -- which I'm not endorsing -- is that beaver dams actually, somehow (I'm unclear on how this works) actually reduce destructive flooding by creating some kind of reservoir area that absorbs a lot of flood overflow.
This cockatoo, Audrey, became depressed after her owner died. She plucked herself near-clean of feathers in her sadness. But a couple adopted her and her depression lifted and she's grown most of her feathers back.
And she's now a happy girl who enjoys dancing with her new dad.
Skip to 1:40 (100 seconds) for the dancing, or just watch the whole thing.
Philly Soros DA Larry Krasner Loses Another One: Federal Court Bars A Top Lawyer In His Office From Appearing in Federal Courts Due to Lying About Evidence to Get a Murderer Off
Remember -- these are the "prosecutors," not the defense attorneys who are lying to the court to get murders spared the death penalty or straight-up released from prison.
A former supervisor in DA Larry Krasner's office has been suspended in federal court
The development comes just one day after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court sharply curtailed Krasner's office's ability to seek to overturn old convictions and accused its lawyers of misleading judges.
A former supervisor in Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner's office has been suspended from the region's federal courts, a development that came just one day after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court sharply curtailed the office's ability to seek to overturn old convictions and accused its lawyers of misleading judges.
Nancy Winkelman was suspended for three years by a panel of federal judges who found that she was complicit in efforts to mislead a federal judge while seeking to overturn the death sentence of a man convicted of killing an East Mount Airy couple in the 1980s and allow him to serve life in prison instead.
The ruling, made public this week, adds to the mounting judicial scrutiny of post-conviction work in Krasner's office. On Tuesday, the state Supreme Court imposed remarkable new restrictions on prosecutors' efforts to reverse potentially problematic convictions.
In a forceful and scolding opinion, the high court said Krasner's office misled judges, submitted false statements, and "violated its duty of candor" in asking a judge to vacate a 2004 murder conviction.
The court wrote that prosecutors' actions in the case were part of a troubling pattern of conduct in seeking to overturn murder convictions and ordered that, going forward, the state attorney general's office must be asked to review and weigh in on all such cases.
The panel of federal judges, in ordering Winkelman's suspension, echoed some of those concerns.
How did Krasner react when he learned that his former supervisor handling post-conviction relief had lied to judges to get guilty murderers off the hook?
He said -- and I'm not kidding -- SO CLOSE TO JUNETEENTH??!!?
Krasner said in a statement Wednesday night that Winkelman is an exceptional attorney who left a lucrative private law practice to serve the public. He said she always showed "exceptional competence and integrity and contributed mightily to needed reform."
"On the eve of Juneteenth," he said, "we should all remember that reform is necessary in every era. And that those who bring needed reform sometimes are made to pay a price."
Does the price always have to include lying in court, perpetrating a fraud on the court, and releasing vicious murders from prison so they can murder again?
The three-judge panel, in a ruling issued in March and unsealed this week, said Winkelman and a subordinate, former assistant district attorney Paul George, misled a federal judge by misrepresenting parts of the case while attempting to reverse the death sentence of Robert Wharton.
Wharton was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for the 1984 strangulation and drowning deaths of Bradley and Ferne Hart inside their East Mount Airy home.
The jury found that Wharton, angry over a disputed debt, spent months terrorizing the family before he forced his way inside the home at knifepoint and killed the couple. Afterward, he turned off the heat, leaving the couple's seven-month-old baby, Lisa, to freeze to death -- but she survived.
Decades later, prosecutors in Krasner's office, in seeking to vacate his death sentence, suggested in court that the victims' family backed their effort. But it was later discovered that they had consulted only one relative and never contacted Lisa Hart-Newman, the couple's surviving daughter, who strongly opposed the move.
The woman barred for three years had a partner in this relentless campaign of fraud on the court.
But Krasner kept on both of these "rogue" prosecutors.
...
Goldberg, who denied the request to reduce Wharton's sentence, later said that George's and Winkelman's review of the case was "patently deficient" and that they had violated federal rules of procedure in a manner that was "egregious" and "exceptional."
...
Last year, the three-judge panel found that [former assistant DA Paul] George had lied to Goldberg about key facts, "flouted the interests of the public and the victims' families," and acted as the "quarterback" of efforts by the district attorney's office to undo or undermine all death penalty cases.
George, 75, was disbarred in federal court. He has denied the accusations and filed an appeal. His attorneys said his disbarment was "highly disproportionate and offends basic tenets of justice." Krasner also defended George's work and said he believed the appeals court would find that the opinion criticizing George was filled with "factually and legally incorrect" statements.
..
Winkelman, the judges said, "knowingly made misrepresentations" as part of the district attorney's office "policy of vacating all death sentences."
Krasner and his staff have long denied that the office has any such policy.
But the panel appeared to reject that, writing: "We do not credit [Winkelman's] testimony that there is no such policy."
Courts keep straight-up calling Krasner not only a liar, but an actual perjurer in court.
How is not being removed from his position entirely?
Today, Barack Obama's $850 million dollar monument to himself opened.
And on CNN NewsNight, Abby Phillip called the opening ceremony "church for liberals."
"This was like church for liberals. It was. Everybody was dressed in their Sunday finest and sitting in the pews, and he was delivering a message about, not just about that, but also actually, there was a lot of contrast happening about Trump, in the remarks from him..."
The transgender frenzy was to be the left's next civil rights crusade, as it constructed a new victimized class with reparatory claims against the guilty traditionalist majority.
Soon, an epidemic of teens began wondering whether they were in fact "trans" and pondering whether to undergo a battery of dangerous hormonal and chemical drug regimens.
What accounts for these bouts of periodic, collective and suicidal madness?
First, the craziness is almost always birthed in the contemporary, affluent and leisured West, which alone has the capital and resources to afford such freakish sideshows.
Second, the frenzies are usually the creation of the left, predictably birthed in universities, the media and the bureaucracies.
They appear with familiar symptoms. The irredeemable, deplorable and "garbage" hoi polloi are supposedly too dense to be properly schooled and thus must be frightened to death in order to adopt agendas that otherwise appear to them as utterly insane.
Junk your natural-gas dryer and grill, or face massive floods on your coasts. Drop the SAT and defund the police or face endless race riots.
Hire thousands of race and gender commissars or be forever tagged as racists, sexists, homophobes and transphobes.
Open the border and let illegal aliens enter by the millions, and thus pay partial penance for "whiteness."
The left is correct that few Western voters will openly embrace the unpopular elite agenda of racial fixations, globalism, laxity on crime and degrowth environmentalism.
So their long-term solutions have four predictable aspects:
1) Open the borders to create a more diverse, impoverished and needy constituency.
2) Create fake "working-class" pseudo-populist candidates like the pampered Graham Platner, the God-is-nonbinary "new Christian" James Talarico and, of course, the waxen effigy of good ol' Joe Biden from Scranton.
3) Destroy time-tested systems by seeking to demolish the Electoral College, the 50-state union, the Senate filibuster and the nine-justice Supreme Court.
4) Gin up these end-of-days, pseudo-existential crises whose solutions require massive new taxes, bigger government and more dictatorial elite managers.
One good sign of growing antidotes is that increasingly Americans, and indeed all Westerners, are saying no to green haranguers, gender and sex demagogues, the race-baiting industry, the open-borders conglomerate and ungrateful immigrants.
Their pushback might be summed up as: "We are no longer going to allow you to destroy ancient traditions that ensured our prosperity, security and liberty, and which were handed down to us by generations far better than your own."
The indictments brought in the Eastern District of Michigan last week against eight 20-somethings deeply involved in anti-Israel protests at the University of Michigan's Ann Arbor campus pull back the curtain on what that movement is really about.
Announcing the indictments, FBI director Kash Patel described a "campaign of violent, criminal acts" in which the Michigan eight engaged in a coordinated campaign of intimidation against university leaders--the president, the provost, the chief investment officer, members of the board of regents, and university police officers, plus "anyone they believed supported" the State of Israel--after the school shut down their illegal "solidarity encampment."
They threw noxious chemicals through the windows of victims' homes, taped demand letters to their doors, defaced the Jewish Federation of Detroit on the one-year anniversary of Oct. 7, and spray-painted private homes with messages like "Intifada" and "Free Palestine."
Then they tried to intimidate a witness, identified in the indictment only as a University of Michigan student the defendants believed was cooperating with federal authorities. Defendants Paige Feyock, a Wellesley graduate and University of Michigan medical researcher, and Zainab Hakim, a 2024 University of Michigan graduate who was then hired by the university for a full-time job in the Center for South Asian Studies, hatched a plan to confront the witness. In mid-July 2024 Feyock aired her concerns about a "snitch" who was "going to send us to federal prison." In early August, she told her pals she and Hakim planned to get coffee with the witness: "ima strip search [him] ... to see if he is wearing a wire. not taking no chances with him." After the fact, she reported, the victim "knows not to talk."
The alleged criminality on display in Ann Arbor is hardly an isolated incident. At UCLA, so-called protesters set up a "Jew Exclusion Zone" barring Zionists from a portion of the campus. At Columbia, pampered rich kids stormed and occupied a university building and held two janitors hostage. At Harvard, a pair of graduate students accosted a fellow student walking across campus.
We're picking up what they're putting down. The nucleus of the "pro-Palestine" protest movement more closely resembles the violent left-wing movements of the past, from the Weather Underground to the Symbionese Liberation Army and Black Lives Matter, that have used terror, violence, and intimidation in an attempt to achieve their political aims.
Have you heard of Hello Fresh? It's a kind of scammy "service" for lazy Millennials. They send you a box full of ingredients and a recipe so that you can make a meal.
I think most people would say that it's easy enough to find a recipe, build a shopping list from it, and buy the groceries yourself, but lazy, helpless adultbabies need a special service to do these very basic "Adulting" tasks for them.
But that's not the story here. The story is that Hello Fresh decided to show its #Pride by offering "high-fiber meals" for Pride Month.
High fiber? Why? Isn't high fiber for good colon health?
Ahhh. Yes, that's it.
Apparently -- and I didn't know this -- people "prep" for anal sex by having high fiber meals to clean out their colons.
And Hello Fresh is now offering recipes and ingredients to make high-fiber, pre-sodomy meals.
Is this really "pride" now? Is this how you want to represent yourselves?
Hello Fresh doubled down and left no ambiguity about the purpose of their new colon-cleaning recipes: Coupon code "BOTTOMS UP"!
Blue Apron -- a scammy competitor to Hello Fresh's feeding service for retards -- got in on the act too, but far less graphically.
I mean, still graphically. But less.
And gay activists continue to wonder why support for gay "rights" is falling.
Look at the behavior of those claiming to represent gays and their Woke White Woman "champions." There might be a clue there.
And remember: It's completely safe to create "gay marriage," because, Bigots, Nothing about gay marriage will affect your lives at all!
The Texas Rangers rejected "pride" night and gay cosplay uniforms:
Greg Abbott
@GregAbbott_TX
The Texas Rangers are the only team in Major League Baseball that doesn't host a Pride Night. This week, they're hosting Faith and Family Night instead.
Meanwhile, MLB just warned Giants pitchers for writing Bible verses on their own caps.
In Texas, we don't punish people for living out their faith. We protect that right.
Libs of TikTok
@libsoftiktok
The University of California (@UofCalifornia) is being SUED over policies that punish students who "misgender."
Saying men don't belong in women's bathrooms is also a punishable offense.
INSANE
Nobody should be forced to affirm someone's mental delusions or get punished for stating biological facts!
A practical guide for Muslims on how to navigate LGBTQ Pride month
5Pillars has compiled a brief guide for Muslims living in the West on how to navigate LGBTQ Pride month during June.
...
We have based the following guidance on publicly available guidance provided by mainstream Muslim scholars.
This is one of the most pressing challenges facing Muslim families in the West today: how to navigate LGBTQ-related issues while remaining grounded in Islamic teachings.
...
An Islamic framework for sexual ethics
...
In this framework, moral standards are derived from divine revelation rather than individual desire or changing social norms.
The Quranic account of Prophet Lut (as) and related Hadith clearly show that same-sex sexual relationships are prohibited in Islam.
"Do you approach males among the worlds and leave what your Lord has created for you as mates? Rather, you are a transgressing people." (Qur'an 26:165--166)
Similar passages appear in Qur'an 7:80--84, 11:77--83, 27:54--58, and 29:28--35. Classical scholars understood these verses as condemning same-sex sexual acts.
The Quran consistently describes spouses as male and female:
"And among His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquility in them..." (Qur'an 30:21)
Other relevant verses include Qur'an 4:1, 49:13, and 53:45. Traditional Islamic law recognises marriage only between a man and a woman.
I'm literally shaking rn you guys.
When I mentioned that "experts" in Spain predicted that 500,000 migrants would take advantage of mass amnesty -- but now that figure is 1,000,000 and climbing -- I forgot to mention a key admission from the socialist government: They were expressly granting mass amnesty "to defeat the far right."
Spain has started to legalise 500,000 undocumented migrants and give them the immediate right to work in a move "to fight against the advance of the far-Right".
Madrid officially began the process on Tuesday after a last-minute deal between the ruling Socialist party and the Left-wing Podemos party, which has propped up Pedro Sanchez's minority government since elections in 2023.
A government spokesman said: "We not only intend to remain a beacon, but I want to believe that we will be a seed and a germ to fight against the advance of this far-Right wave that is trying to gain ground, and against which we will do everything in our power to stop it."
"Podemos" is Spanish for "We Can." Does that sound familiar to anyone? Si, Se Puede! (Yes, We Can!)
PanEuropeanMovement
@EuropeanPan
The Spanish government and its partners openly state that the reason for legalising more than half a million migrants is to "defeat the far right." This is literally weaponised demography. They took the most conspiratorial interpretation of the "Great Replacement" that is not even shared by most far right parties, namely it being a coordinated elite plan to reduce the native European share of the population, and actually turned it into policy - while also bypassing parliament, I might add.
At least nothing like that is going on in the US:
Libs of TikTok
@libsoftiktok
5h
BREAKING: The LA City Council voted 10-5 to advance a proposal that would ALLOW non-citizens to vote in city and school board elections
Irish author Sally Rooney gave a speech last night blaming Israel for the rise of fascism and the far right in Europe and concluding that the “liberation of Palestine represents the liberation of the world”. How very 1930s Europe of her to blame the Jews for everything. pic.twitter.com/TSJzTjbu4u
Armie Hammer was being pushed as an actor before he was completely blacklisted from Hollywood due to #MeToo allegations I never really understood. I know people say he's a "cannibal" because his sexts included stuff like "I want to consume you" but that seems to me to be a case of dirty talk gone wrong.
I have no idea if he should or shouldn't be cancelled. I do know that he's attempting a comeback and that few people will hire him. He's in what appears to be an edgy movie about a vigilante who kills "criminals and those in power who protect them," which is always a taboo kind of movie for Hollywood. It's very low-budget, which you can tell from the movie showing off stuff to make it seem like a big-budget movie, but the stuff they're showing -- like an APC driving down the street -- is relatively cheap to achieve.
Is this some kind of signal that the cultural zeitgeist is shifting against the Regime? I doubt it, because someone is always able to raise a smallish amount of money for this kind of movie. See both the Charles Bronson Death Wish and the underrated Bruce Willis remake. (I'm not saying it's great, I'm just saying it's underrated.)
Yes, Death Wish did definitely indicate that the public was moving decisively against liberal indulgence of rampant criminality, but most of these kinds of movies mean nothing. Urban vigilante movies are often popular. Even Jodie Foster did one (and it was pretty decent.)
Still, maybe it's something? I don't know. It'll probably wind up telling us that Those In Power Protecting Criminals are Donald Trump and his friend, Cyborg Jeffrey Epstein.
I know you guys are all huge fans of Olivia Wilde, both as a loudmouthed shrill feminist propaganda director and also a shit actress, as well as never-gets-old Seth Rogan and pompous idiot Ed Norton, so here, enjoy this trailer. Apparently it's about old people being invited by their old neighbors to participate in their orgy.
Feminists constantly use sex to sell themselves. Absolutely constantly. They alternate between scolding men for having a normal, healthy interest in sex and then using sex to hype their projects.
Below: it has a dog so I'm interested.
If there's a kind of movie I'm more sick of than corporate IP slop it's post-apocalyptic zombie slop. And also, Ridley Scott slop. And also, Josh Brolin slop. So here's all that slop in one, so we can get it out of the way fast and move past it.
That trailer made me think "I'm so sick of hearing Nine Inch Nails" despite having not heard them in years. I blame the trailer.
Good environmentalist themes in Whalefall, which teaches us that whales are dangerous predators and must be eradicated before they eat us all.
Yes, it's actually a Jonah-type story and it's kind of intense.
Leftwing extremist propagandist Aaron Sorkin is suddenly against social media now that FaceBook -- the villain here -- isn't quite as compliant with the left's brainwashing agenda as it used to be.
I know, I know -- FaceBook censored people regarding covid. I can assure you that is not what Aaron Sorkin finds problematic. What he's angry about is that Zuckerberg repented for that (or pretended to) and is no longer on Team Brainwash.
I saw this movie reviewed. Film Threat said it was LAME. Past the opening teaser, there's only two characters, so you know they're not going to die, at least until the last ten minutes. They said it was a thirty-minute horror anthology story stretched beyond it's breaking point to be feature-length.
That said, this trailer has a jump-scare that really got me.
The Jessica Chastain "Woke White Woman Tracks Dangerous Far-Right Republicans on the Internet and Reports Them to Their Manger" Apple TV series The Savant, which was delayed due to the assassination of Charlie Kirk -- hey, his assassin wasn't far right at all, was he? -- will finally be released in July, so you have that going for you.
And if that's not woke enough for you:
#BradleyCooper is in talks to star in Sean Penn’s next directorial effort, a film that chronicles the early life of a police officer who defended the U.S. capital on Jan. 6.
NEW: Just heard something extraordinary from a former White House official who worked with former National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster in Trump45's NSC: "McMaster had weekly phone calls with George Soros. We have no idea why." Neither could be reached for comment.
Podcast: CBD and Sefton dissect the Iran treaty but praise the great U.S. military, decry the deep state's influence on SAVE and FISA, talk marijuana and guns, mock the Northeast's racism, and Go Knicks!
Update to Gavin Newsom Under Investigation story: This investigation was begun under Senor Dementia:
Adam Housley
@adamhousley
As I have reported several times and now acknowledged by the Governor of California... Gavin and his wife are under federal investigation... what he failed to tell you... This began during the Biden Admin. Kind of a big detail.
Days before the woman was stabbed in the neck by a taxpayer-supported Cultural Enrichment Officer, in the same general area, another taxpayer-supported Cultural Enrichment Officer attacked a boy and bloodied his head with a brick. What is the UK Regime's plan for protecting the citizens from the savage criminals they've foisted on the populace? They offer NONE. They do, however, have a plan for protecting the savage criminals from the citizens: The citizens must STAY CALM and not get angry and not share videos of citizens being attacked by savage criminals.
The public keeps saying "protect us from the foreign savages you have imported against our wishes and over our objections" and the UK branch of The Regime keeps proposing plans to protect the foreign savages from the public. Soclose to what the public is demanding, just, you know, the complete opposite. Just a thought: Maybe you wouldn't have to worry about the public attacking the savage criminals if you actually introduced a plan to protect the public from the savage criminals. Maybe they wouldn't feel as if it was necessary for them to protect the public through self-help.
Podcast: Sefton and CBD bounce around from Maine and its pet Nazi, to the cracks in the Democrat messaging, to the failure of California and its effect on the 2028 election, sea drones rescuing Apache crews, and more!
